Single Publication

Southwest Area

Incident Management Team

TEAM 5 – Dave Gesser– INCIDENT COMMANDER

As more areas reopen, caution is advised

Daily Update, Friday, June 28, 2024

Mescalero Apache Tribe Emergency Operations Center: 575-464-9214 (8am-12am)

Village of Ruidoso and Lincoln County Emergency Operations Center: 575-258-6900 (7am-10pm)

Fire Information Phone: 575-323-8378 or 575-323-8258 (8am-8pm)

Media Information Phone: 575-323-8053 (8am-8pm)

Email: 2024.southfork@firenet.gov

Acres:  South Fork – 17,569; Salt – 7,939

Start Date: June 17, 2024

Location: South Fork – Ruidoso Area; Salt – 7 mile west of Mescalero, NM

Personnel: 860

Containment: South Fork – 73%; Salt – 71%

Fuels: mixed conifer, grass, pine/juniper                                             

Resources: The South Fork and Salt fires are currently staffed with 21 crews, 4 helicopters, 36 engines, 5 bulldozers, and 11 water tenders.

Highlights:

Reentry: As exclusion zones re-open, please remember that there are still firefighters, firefighting equipment, utility company workers and vehicles working in the area. Their work is critical to restore utilities and services, and conditions in the exclusion zones pose a safety risk to the emergency personnel as well as the public. Please be patient and allow them to complete their work in Upper Canyon and Cedar Creek.

"NO ENTRY/EXCLUSION ZONES" remain in place in some areas of the village. Visit https://www.ruidoso-nm.gov/south-fork-fire or contact the Village of Ruidoso and Lincoln County Emergency Operations Centers for more information.

Tribal evacuation and donation sites: Evacuation sites on the Mescalero Apache Reservation will be closing operations by Sunday, June 30, 2024. These sites include the Mescalero Community Center and the Inn of the Mountain Gods' convention center.

As of Friday, June 28, 2024, all donations and tribal distribution of donated items to persons/families affected by the fires will be at the Inn of the Mountain Gods' convention center from 8 AM - 6:30 PM daily.

Fire Activity: The South Fork and Salt fires experienced limited fire activity as storms moved over the area on Thursday. With those storms, several lightning strikes occurred, causing one confirmed fire, which crews suppressed immediately after discovery. Firefighters will monitor for additional ignitions as wet fuels begin drying out through the day on Friday.

Weather: Much of the fire area will continue a slight drying trend until isolated afternoon showers and thunderstorms return. Rain chances increase again on Saturday, with slow moving storms capable of producing high rain rates and flash floods.

Smoke: Smoke will continue to have the biggest impact during the late overnight and morning hours for areas near the fires. Additional details are available at https://outlooks.wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlook/430b2c05.

Closures: A South Fork Fire Emergency Closure Order was issued on June 20, 2024, for national forest lands within the Smokey Bear Ranger District. The identified areas, and roads and trails therein, are closed to public access to allow firefighting personnel to work and through the fire area safely. More information is available at www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/lincoln/alerts-notices/?aid=88199. 

A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is in place over the fire area. Public/commercial drone flights are also prohibited within this area. If you fly, we may have to ground our air resources. Visit https://tfr.faa.gov/tfr2/list.html for more information.

More information:

Inciweb: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/nmmea-south-fork-and-salt

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SWIMT5 

Smoke Outlook: https://outlooks.wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlook/430b2c05

Lincoln County Government: www.lincolncountynm.gov

Mescalero Apache Tribe: https://mescaleroapachetribe.com 

Village of Ruidoso: www.ruidoso-nm.gov/south-fork-fire